Gunther to defend Intercontinental Title against former champion on WWE SmackDown next week

WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther's next challenger has been confirmed on the latest episode of SmackDown. He is set to face former United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.

Several weeks ago, The Ring General was scheduled to defend the title in an open challenge. When Nakamura showed up to face the champion, he said that he doesn't fight without preparation. The King of Strong Style has since faced Ludwig Kaiser in subsequent weeks, winning and losing once each.

On this week's episode of SmackDown, Shinsuke Nakamura faced Ludwig Kaiser again, with an opportunity at the IC Title at stake. He successfully won the match and is scheduled to take on Gunther for the coveted championship next week.

In a hard-hitting contest, The King of Strong Style was on the offensive early in the match. He looked to make easy work of Kaiser, but Gunther's associate showed a resilient comeback, often motivated by the Intercontinental Champion being at ringside. However, Nakamura emerged as the winner once again.

Nakamura has held the Intercontinental title before. It'll be interesting to see if he'll be the first person to dethrone The Ring General on the blue brand and become a three-time IC Champion.

Who do you think will emerge victorious on SmackDown next week? Sound off in the comments below!